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beet and blood orange bundt cake #bundtbakers

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “New Year, new you” at some point in your life.

Well, I’ve decided that I don’t need a new me. I’m as happy as a clam with the current me, so I’m tossing that pesky little phrase out the window.

What I could use in the new year though, is some new recipes. I really want to shake things up and learn some new tricks in the kitchen.

In my last #bundtbakers post I mentioned that I’d gotten an old cookbook from my mother and I wanted to try some new (to me) recipes from old cookbooks. Russell heard me loud and clear and found me some even older cookbooks on Ebay for Christmas, one of them dating back to 1884. Some of these recipes are so old, and so unfamiliar, that they actually feel completely fresh and new and innovative! I can’t wait to start cooking my way through them!

Don’t get the wrong idea though. While I definitely want to revisit the recipes of the past, I also want to try a few things that are totally new and modern. New ways of doing things, new techniques tips and tricks, new spins on classic recipes, and new combinations of flavors.

As fate would have it, our very own June of How to Philosophize with Cake chose “Strange but good / weird flavor combinations” as our #bundtbakers theme this month. Can you think of a better segue into trying something new and exciting in the great big world of bundts?

I sure can’t!

I wasn’t the only one who got excited about this month’s super fun and interesting theme. 25 bloggers are participating this month and some of the ideas they came up with are truly mind-blowing. Please scroll down past the recipe to check out everyone’s cakes, but be warned, you might want to grab a towel to wipe up the drool while you read through their posts.

After some serious thought and option weighing I decided to try making a beet cake. I’ve always loved beets and have often thought that their earthy sweetness would work well in dessert. I’ve wanted to try experimenting with beets in sweets for a long while but until now haven’t had the drive to go for it.

Apparently I’m not the only one who thought beets worked well with this theme. While everyone’s cakes are totally different, there are a few others who used beets in their recipes too, and they all sound phenomenal.

I’m usually pretty good at being able to size up a recipe and know what changes I can make without screwing it up.
Unfortunately this was not one of those times. I had a one hell of a time getting this recipe right and had to make three cakes before I was happy with the results. My first plan incorporated ricotta along with the beet puree and orange juice, and while it tasted great there was too much added moisture and the texture was dense and gummy. The ricotta didn’t really add much in the flavor department either, so I nixed it. The next try was much closer to perfection but I knew I still had a little work to do before I could proudly and confidently share the recipe with all of y’all.

One thing I was sort of surprised and disappointed by was the way the bright red color of the beets baked out by the time the cake came out of the oven. For some reason the very top of the cake stayed red, but the interior turned a pale orange color. I tried a few things in my experimenting, and did some research online on how to preserve the color with acidic ingredients like orange juice, buttermilk, and baking powder (rather than baking soda which has a base PH). The bottom line though was that this cake needs to cook too long to be able to preserve the color, so making sure the cake is cooked all the way through means that you have to sacrifice that vivid red.

I thought about using food coloring to turn it red again, but that’s not really my style and it seemed unnecessary. The beets are there for flavor not color, and the flavor stays even after the color bakes out.

Let me tell you, this cake has amazing flavor in spades. You may think that using beets in a cake is weird or unappetizing, but think again. It may sound a bit weird in theory, but it’s seriously freaking delicious. Even people who don’t care for beets will probably enjoy this bright and citrusy cake.

Thanks to the moisture from the buttermilk and beet puree, this cake is incredibly moist and tender, with a light and delicate crumb. The bright citrusy acidity of the blood orange pairs beautifully with the sweet, earthy, almost floral flavor of the beet. Ground cardamom bolsters the floral notes in the beets, and a bit of ground clove bridges the gap between the bright citrus and earthy beet. A sunny blood orange glaze adds even more citrus flavor and a naturally pretty in pink color that’s missing from the cake itself. To top it all off a sprinkle of freshly toasted pistachios adds crunch, color, and an earthy floral flavor that compliments the rest of the cake perfectly.

Brush a 10 to 12 cup bundt pan with softened butter, dust with flour, and tap out excess. Refrigerate.

Combine orange zest and sugar in a large bowl and mix until well combined with an electric mixer. Set aside.

Wash and peel beets and cut into quarters. Place in a food processor with orange juice and puree until very smooth, about two to three minutes. Pour into a measuring cup and measure out exactly 1 cup of beet puree. Discard any extra if you have too much. If a little short you can top it off with a touch of extra buttermilk. Add 1/2 cup buttermilk to beet puree and stir well. Set aside.

Add softened butter to orange scented sugar and cream together on high speed until very light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add oil, vanilla, and one egg at a time, beating just enough to incorporate. Alternate flour and beet mixtures, beginning and ending with flour, scraping sides of bowl between additions.

Transfer batter to prepared bundt pan, tap out any air in the pan. Place pan on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 55 to 65 minutes, or just until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.

Cool on a cooling rack for about 20 minutes before inverting pan to remove cake onto the rack. Cool on the rack until completely cool.

To make the glaze, whisk orange zest, orange juice, and powdered sugar toghether until smooth and completely free of lumps. The glaze should seem very thick, almost spreadable. If too thick add a few drops of water or orange juice, if too thin add more powdered sugar, 1/4 cup at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Pour glaze over completely cooled cake, and before it dries, top with a sprinkle of pistachios.

Cake should keep, well sealed in an airtight container, at room temperature for up to 4 days.

There are so many incredibly interesting and mouthwatering cakes this month. I know I say this all the time, but I really wish I could try them all. Some of these combinations of flavor are simply unbelievable that I’ve got to try them for myself.

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#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving Bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme or ingredient. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest Board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers can be found on our homepage.

Thanks Renee! Russell sure did good this Christmas! It seems that the older the cookbook the less specific the recipe though- most of the recipes in the 1884 cookbook are just a list of ingredients with a sentence or two on how to combine them. It’ll definitely be fun to see how things come out!

Wow, even though you say that the colors faded a bit while baking, they are still quite striking! I try to steer clear of food coloring as much as I can, so I like that you do too. What an unusual cake!

I am glad you persisted and so we got a wonderful recipe to try out. I absolutely the color of your cake. Russell did good this Christmas. Looking forward to the posts about your take on the old recipes.

Tux, I cannot wait to see what old classics you whip up and to see your spin on them. That is just brilliant. There is a whole treasure trove of secrets hidden away in the culinary world…some forgotten, others yet to be discovered. It’s an ever changing world, which is why I think us foodies are always excited about getting into the kitchen.

This bundt is beautiful…I love baking with beets..they are one of my favorites. The lovely shade it gives this cake makes it perfect for Valentine’s Day ^_^ Wishing you and Russell a safe and warm weekend!!

Thank you Wendy! I’m a huge cardamom fan but I don’t use it very often because I’m afraid a lot of people won’t have it and wouldn’t know what else to do with it if they did buy it. For this though, I really thought it was perfect and had to include it.

I’ve made this cake before.. Bradley Ogden’s Chocolate Cake with shredded beets .. you don’t even know there are beets in it later on.

DEVIL’S FOOD CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING

Lark Creek Inn chef/owner Bradley Ogden gives depth of color and flavor to this moist, dense cake by adding uncooked red beets to the batter. The icing needs to be made 8 to 10 hours ahead.

INGREDIENTS:
— 2 cups cake flour

— 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

— 1 3/4 cups sugar

— 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

— 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

— 3/4 teaspoon salt

— 3 eggs, lightly beaten

— 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

— 1/2 cup sour cream

— 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

— 1/2 cup grated peeled red beet (about 1 medium beet)

— Chocolate Icing (see recipe)

INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 9- or 10-inch cake pan, line with baking parchment or wax paper and butter again.

Sift the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer.

Blend together the eggs and buttermilk. Add slowly to the dry ingredients, beating on low speed, until incorporated.

Add the sour cream and mix until blended.

Combine the butter and beets, then blend into the batter. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spreading it evenly.

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until the sides begin to pull away from pan and the center of cake is set. Remove pan to a cooling rack; let cool for at least 1 hour.

When completely cool, cut cake in half horizontally to make 2 layers.

Place the bottom layer on a serving plate and spread with some of the icing.

Cover with top layer, then frost top and sides with remaining icing. Serves 10.

Note: Ogden’s original recipe calls for twice the amount of ingredients, making 2 cakes. If you have need of another cake in the next few weeks, go ahead and make 2 cakes at once. The work and cleanup time are virtually the same and, tightly wrapped, the cakes freeze well for a couple of weeks.

I’m a little irritated though – I drafted a post with a verrrrryyyy similar intro and now I feel like I have to think of something else so I’m not a copycat! That’s what I get for being a lazy blogger lol parallel lives, once again!

One of my favourite bundt tins you’ve used and it looks so so pretty. I can imagine that beets work well in cakes with their natural sweetness coming through. How exciting getting those old cookbooks for Christmas, can’t wait to see what you cook/bake from them. I love books, especially old ones.

I love that little tinge of pink and I agree that I would much rather have flavor than add red coloring to have the look of beet. I’m one of your group that also used beets and I too loved that hint of earthiness that beets bring to the cake, and I can’t wait to try some of these flavor combos too.

funny how 3 of us decide to bake with beets. I mistakenly left a comment for you on I Sugar Coat It’s site. good lord!

so cool how you don’t need a new you. love how you love yourself. I agree that it’s weird how the red baked right out of the cake, but was left on the top. I wonder what Alton Brown would have to say about that? I guess orange dominates beets…but you would think it was the other way around. no matter. you inspire me to go back and check out some old school cookbooks because your bundt looks crazy moist and delicious.

Hello! Just finding out about your blog now, and I’m very glad I did! What a crazy awesome idea for a bundt! Not to mention that your photos are so stunning that I’m sitting here drooling wishing I could eat that cake slice through the screen. Thanks for sharing your NY resolutions with us, too! Sounds like it’s going to be an adventurous year in the kitchen for you.

This is one of the most stunning cakes I have ever seen! I am in love with the color scheme of your photos — dark and moody with a bright pop of color from that gorgeous cake. I am a huge fan of beets too, but have yet to try baking with them, so that’s on my list! Interesting that the color baked out — I didn’t think ANYthing could get beet color to fade, haha. Still though, I love the pretty peach color you have going and that pink glaze.

So exciting about all the old cookbooks! I’m a huge fan of older recipes too, so looking forward to see what you have in store!

You can if you like but I tried roasting them first and it didn’t help much to preserve their color so I skipped this step in further testing. My food processor did a great job of puréeing them raw, but if you’re worried about them being too hard you could roast them ahead or you could grate them with a box grater.